A mother of two has been charged with child abuse and remanded in custody after her children took cannabis-infused candies and were hospitalised.

Magistrate Philip Chan rejected her bail application at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday, a day after she was arrested at Wang Tau Hom Estate in Wong Tai Sin.

She gave the sweets to the two children, a six-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, who then fell ill, with the girl vomiting and the boy losing consciousness, according to the police.

‘Neglect’

According to a court document, the mother, identified only as WJ in court, is a 41-year-old homemaker who holds a two-way permit allowing her to enter Hong Kong as a mainland Chinese resident.

The woman brought her children to visit their relatives in Hong Kong, and they were staying at her aunt’s flat at the public housing estate.

The mother gave the sweets to her children before leaving the flat on Monday but – upon her return – found her son unconscious and frothing at mouth, and her daughter semi-conscious after vomiting.

She reported the incident and the children were rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei for treatment. Officers found a box of cannabis candies at the scene.

As the person “who had the custody, charge or care” of the two children, she was accused of neglecting them “in a manner likely to cause… unnecessary injury to health” and charged with one count of child abuse over the incident.

The woman’s aunt, a 61-year-old construction worker identified as NYF, was also arrested the same day and subsequently charged with one count of possessing a dangerous drug. She was released on a HK$5,000 cash bail.

At court on Wednesday, the magistrate adjourned the next hearing to October 14 and ordered that the mother be remanded in custody to assist with the police investigation. A bail review will be held on August 13.

Ill-treatment or neglect of a child attracts a sentence of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction. Those convicted of possessing a dangerous drug may face up to seven years in prison and a fine of HK$1 million.